


Reconnect

by TiffanyF



Category: CSI: Miami
Genre: M/M, episode tagish
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-04
Updated: 2013-05-04
Packaged: 2017-12-10 08:36:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/784029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TiffanyF/pseuds/TiffanyF
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Small spoilers for Season 9 Episode 14 "Stoned Cold." Eric knows more about his lover's background than the rest of the team does and, when Horatio vanishes in the middle of the investigation, Eric goes to find him. Don't own, don't claim, no money made here.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Reconnect

Eric watched Horatio closely during the case. He knew that no one else at the lab knew about Horatio's late father, how he'd treated his wife and eldest son, and Eric worried about what investigating a case of bullying would do to Horatio. He knew he needed to be ready for nightmares at the very least.

"Eric, have you seen Horatio?" Ryan asked from the door to the trace lab. "I needed to ask him about a soil sample and he's not answering his phone."

Add in the reappearance of Memmo on the anniversary of Speed's death the week before, and Eric was just hoping to be able to keep his lover together long enough for them to actually be able to spend a whole night together. Horatio had been spending a lot of time out on the beach, and it worried Eric that the older man wasn't sleeping as much as he should be.

"I haven't seen him, Wolfe, but I'll go check a couple of places for you," Eric said. "Want me to take a look at the soil sample first?"

"Yeah, if you don't mind. It came from the field where we found the victim, but there's something in it that's not making any sense to me," Ryan said, gesturing to the microscope. "I'm hoping if I can work out the odd trace it might lead us to who killed her."

"Makes sense," Eric agreed. He bent over and looked to see what Ryan was looking at. "I see clay, dirt, some stones and yeah, I see what you're talking about. That shiny material on the stones. Do you have anything large enough to send a sample to trace?"

"I don't. I'll see if Tripp will go back to the field with me and see what we can find," Ryan said. "Thanks for looking, Eric. Let Horatio know about this when you find him, will you?" He stepped in closer and lowered his voice. "Let me know if there's anything I can do to help, okay?"

"Thanks, Wolfe," Eric said with a smile. "I'll do that."

Ryan nodded and left. Eric sighed and took out his own phone, knowing that Horatio wouldn't ignore a call from him no matter what. "Hey, where'd you vanish to?" he asked when the call was picked up.

"I'm with Tim," Horatio replied.

"Mind some company?"

"No. You know I'll never be bothered having you around, Eric. You know that, right?"

"Of course I do," Eric said softly. "Stay put, I'll be there as quickly as I can."  
***

Speed's grave was under a large tree up on a hill. Both Horatio and Eric liked to go there when they needed a chance to regroup, to feel like they had someone to listen to them who wouldn't judge, or just to spend time with Speed. His death had hit them both hard, tearing away a piece of them that they were never going to be able to get back, no matter how hard they tried. Eric parked next to Horatio's Hummer and made his way to where his lover was sitting next to the headstone. "Hey."

"Hey."

"So, Ryan's got a soil sample that has some sort of shiny material adhering to the rocks, but the rocks are too small to get a sample of just the material to send to trace," Eric said. "He's going to go back and see what he can find."

"Is he taking Frank with him?" Horatio asked.

"Yeah, how'd you know that?"

"Because they've been dating for the past month and are taking every chance they can to spend time together."

Eric paused for a minute and they laughed. "No wonder Frank's been a little slower to answer the phone when he's not at work," he said. "Good for them, they've been dancing around that far too long. Frank's even got a nickname ready to go."

"Dust monkey," Horatio said with a small smile.

"How?"

"No idea."

"How's Speed?" Eric asked after a moment of silence where they just enjoyed sitting next to each other.

"Good. Calleigh was here to visit a few days ago and left him sunflowers," Horatio said. "She also cleaned the headstone and tidied up a little. I just hate that we missed the anniversary of his death."

"I know," Eric said. "But you know he understands what happened. He would have been in the thick of it with us, ready to do whatever he needed to."

"Yeah." Horatio leaned his head back and sighed. "I'm sorry for dropping off radar, Eric, but I needed some time to think. Frank knows where I am. I didn't just vanish with no one knowing where I was."

"Hey, it's okay," Eric said. He shifted closer and wrapped an arm around Horatio's waist. "I know how much you miss him, and having his death and Mari's birthday and having to deal with Memmo and now this. You're entitled to time, H. We all know what's happened the past couple of weeks. This case's impact is the one I'm the most worried about though. How are you holding up?"

Horatio smiled softly. "I'll be okay," he said. "It's hard, bullying has always hit me harder than it does someone who wasn't bullied, like you, Eric; but I'll be okay. Last week was the one that really wore me down. I'd like a weekend to just spend with you. Somewhere quiet and safe."

"I like the sound of that," Eric said. "If we get this solved before tomorrow morning, how about you and I take the night and just spend it together? Calleigh would probably be willing to handle anything that came up overnight for you."

"I'd like that," Horatio said. "Let's ask her and solve this case. I don't want these children to suffer more than they already have."

Eric grinned. "You got it, H."


End file.
